


Coffee, Cream and Pine Trees

by cuddlequxxn



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill is a giant dork, Explicit Language, Fluff, I have plans, M/M, Probably not a one shot, Slow Burn, bc i left it off kinda weird, coffee shop AU, defiantly not a one shot fam, don't expect anything amazing, don't expect some amazing stuff, idk yet but i think I'm gonna pan this out as long as i can, im not a writer, its a lil short, lmao get ready, ok, the other story I wrote i never finished, they're pretty cute, this might be a one shot, well like kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-07-11 04:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7028137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddlequxxn/pseuds/cuddlequxxn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The shop was mostly white with tables everywhere, and a marble bar with dark, vintage looking stools. Past the counter there was a staircase leading to a balcony that overlooked the whole establishment, which was not that large in the first place.<br/>Dipper usually came here to escape the work and glitter of the Mystery Shack so he could focus on his book. It was a fiction novel, as Dipper knew that no one would read it if he labeled it non-fiction. The people that worked there were friendly and knew his order like the back of their hands: black coffee and a chocolate croissant."</p>
<p>Coffee Shop AU because Dipper is (basically) addicted to the stuff and Bill would be the dorkiest barista ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first Gravity Falls fic so please be nice! I love comments and criticism to help me improve my writing, so please leave them! I thought of the Coffee Shop AU back in October but didn't get around to finishing this until just now. Chapters might be a little short at first since I'm getting into it but will become longer in the future.

Dipper walked into the cozy coffee shop and sat down at a table near the door. He opened his laptop to continue his research of the supernatural; away from his family to distract him with work and crafts.

The shop was mostly white with tables everywhere, and a marble bar with dark, vintage looking stools. Past the counter there was a staircase leading to a balcony that overlooked the whole establishment, which was not that large in the first place.

Dipper usually came here to escape the work and glitter of the Mystery Shack so he could focus on his book. It was a fiction novel, as Dipper knew that no one would read it if he labeled it non-fiction. The people that worked there were friendly and knew his order like the back of their hands: black coffee and a chocolate croissant.

He continued his research and realized someone new was in the coffee shop. Said someone was frozen staring at him. Dipper glanced over his laptop screen to see a blond haired man with a grown out undercut was watching him work as he dried some cups. The man noticed Dipper looking back at him and quickly turned around to take the dried cups somewhere else. _Who is that man?_ Dipper thought _How long ago was he hired and how did he not notice him sooner?_.

Dipper worked a little longer and when the man returned, Dipper got up and walked over to the counter.

“Excuse me sir may I order?” Dipper asked, leaning over the counter slightly.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just-” the man noticed Dipper in front of him and couldn’t speak for a second, “Sorry, what would you like, sir?”

“Black coffee and a chocolate croissant, please,” Dipper replied, smiling and keeping a cool tone to keep the new man calm.

“C-coming right up, sir!” the mysterious man tripped as he left, quickly standing up straighter and walking slower to make sure it didn’t happen again.

As Dipper walked back over to his belongings, he could feel the eyes of the mysterious man watching him. He sat back down and waited for his coffee to be ready.

A few minutes later, Dipper heard the coffee being poured into a cup and the croissant being taken out of the toaster oven. He rose from his seat, making much louder noises than he wanted to and cringed slightly at the obnoxious noise of the metal legs of the chair scraping against the stone floor. Slowly walking over, he picked up the coffee and croissant from the counter and sat back down. The whole time he felt the eyes of the mysterious man on him. Dipper thought that the man was attractive with his blond hair messily draped over his eyes. He pulled a piece off of the croissant off and dipped it into his coffee, and popped the morsel into his mouth. As he was chewing he looked up at the man and at the same time, the man whipped his head around, blush slightly rising to his cheeks.

_Hm, interesting_

Dipper gathered his belongings, realizing it was quite late, and returned the cup and plate back to the counter. He left the money required and a reasonable tip for the mysterious man.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Dipper returned around the same time and the man was there again. This time he didn’t notice him enter so he went straight for the counter. Dipper leaned on his elbows, and said “Excuse me?”

“Yes?” the man replied, turning around and blushing once he realized who was there.

“May I have a black coffee and chocolate croissant, please?”

“Y-yes! Of course!” the man fumbled around like the day before, picked himself up, and looked back to see a grinning Dipper.

Dipper decided to change up his seating, and sit at the marble counter near where the man was making his coffee. He opened his laptop and started writing again, adventure after adventure, hoping to be published one day.

Soon the man came back over and gave him his food.  
“Thank you,” Dipper said, smiling at the man.

“N-no problem,” The man stuttered. He began to walk away, and Dipper just had to find out what his name was.

“Excuse me, what is your name?” Dipper asked, successfully not stumbling over his words.

“Um, Bill Cipher, sir.”

“Bill, huh. That name has a nice ring to it.”

“You think? I always thought Bill was a boring name.”

“Nah, Bill might seem generic, but it’s so interesting because it seems so common, where it isn’t,” Dipper replied, noting to possible name a future character Bill.

“That’s such a creative way to put it. Well enjoy your coffee!” Bill cheered, waving as he walked back to help a customer who had walked in during their conversation.

Dipper finished off his food and coffee and left a tip same as the day before. As he was leaving, he noticed a different feeling in his chest. The feeling left as quickly as it came, and Dipper ignored it and went home.

 

* * *

 

Dipper hadn’t been in the coffee shop for almost a week. His Grunkle needed him to work nonstop in the Mystery Shack since Mabel was so sick she wasn’t even smiling. It pained Dipper, so he took over all of Mabel’s shifts, as well as his own, to keep their Grunkle happy.

As soon as he walked into the small coffee shop, he was greeted by smiling faces and the energizing smell of fresh coffee. All the employees that knew him well offered him discounted coffee since he looked like he hadn’t slept in months, even if it had only been a few days. His eyes had reasonably dark bags underneath them, and his gaze looked distant from the lack of sleep.

Dipper placed his bag at his favorite table near the window and went over to the counter to order. One of the employees offered him a free croissant since he looked so tired, and even though he declined the offer, they insisted. He walked back over to his table and opened his laptop to start writing.

After about ten minutes his order arrived, but it wasn’t from anyone he saw when he walked in.

It was him.

That golden mess of hair and those almost unnatural blue eyes staring back at him just past his laptop screen. The man ran a hand through his messy hair only to make it more messy than before.

“Thank you,” Dipper said as he stared up at the man.

“Welcome, sir,” Bill replied, still staring at Dipper as he walked away, yet again, tripping over something causing Dipper to laugh.

Dipper stayed in the coffee shop until closing, and as he got up and packed up his stuff he noticed Bill leaving as well. Dipper hurried along and caught up with Bill outside.

It was near the end of spring, yet it was still a little cold with clouds covering the sky everyday. Since it was later at night, Bill was wearing a long grey coat over his already dark clothing. Bill wore a black button down tucking into his black dress pants, with a matching black belt to match. The all black ensemble included black dress shoes, black socks, and a gold watch. Dipper just assumed this was because it was his work uniform, and he didn’t usually dress in all black (because it didn’t quite fit what Dipper knew of his personality).

When Dipper caught up to him, Bill didn’t notice him at first. He had earbuds in, and Dipper could hear the music blaring from them from where he was walking next to him. He tapped Bill on the shoulder, since he was about 5 inches taller than Dipper, and he seemed shocked to see Dipper walking next to him.

“Uh, hi,” Bill squeaked out.

“Hi! Sorry to intrude on your walk home, but I saw you walking and thought that maybe I could talk to you as I walk home, too. Or to my car at least,” Dipper finished somewhat lamely.

“Of course, of course,” Bill said, not quite knowing what to say to the brown haired man, “Um, where do you live?”

“I live at the Mystery Shack with my Great Uncle Stan and my twin sister Mabel. The place is full of fake supernatural ‘artifacts’ that Stan ‘collects’ and glitter from my sister’s many, _many,_ arts and crafts projects. I try to get away from there when I’m not working so that I can write my book.”

“Oh, so you’re an author?”

“Not quite,” Dipper explained, “I _will be_ an author, I just need to finish my book.”

“Well you write, you go to coffee shops and drink obscene amounts of coffee to stay awake, you have another job other than writing, and,” Bill stopped and poked at Dipper’s glasses, “you have dorky glasses. Seems like an author to me.”

Dipper laughed and adjusted his glasses, noting that his car was coming up. Dipper also noted that Bill is probably one of the most interesting barista he’s ever met at that coffee shop. His face is striking, his personality is that of a puppy, and he doesn’t seem annoyed by Dipper yet. That last one might change but, for now, Dipper will enjoy the company of Bill while he gets it.

The two talked for another five minutes about what Dipper writes about, favorite colors (Bill’s is yellow, Dipper’s is, ironically, green like pine trees), and favorite drinks (Bill’s is green tea).

“Well, this is my ride,” Dipper said, pointing at his car, “I’ll come in tomorrow so hopefully you’re working so we can talk some more.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Bill said before he started walking away.

Dipper put his things in his car, and was about to get in his car when he saw Bill walking back over.

“I forgot to ask, what’s your name?” Bill asked, laughing a little bit.

“Dipper Pines, at your service,” Dipper said dramatically, doing a little bow at the end.

“Well Dipper,” Bill laughed, “I’ll see you later.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan's here, Bill's queer, and Dipper and Mabel have a cute twin moment.

Average is an odd word. The meaning is pretty vague and can be interpreted many ways. What is average? If something isn’t average, is it a bad thing? Is average this box where everything fits and things that don’t, just don’t? Or is it just a thought that is mostly agreed upon by many people, but isn’t a set in stone idea that is accepted by everyone and everything?

Those are things that Dipper thinks of often. 

He has to consider everything that could be imagined as average and weird, and try and put it into comprehensible words that people will read. Then, after that, he has to hope they’ll like it. What if they like it, but not him? What if they like him, but not it?

_ What time is it?  _

Dipper looked over at the clock next to his bed, bleary eyed, seeing if he actually slept. 

**_5:00 AM_ **

_ Damn it _

He made his way downstairs for his first cup of coffee for the day, dressed in an old t-shirt and his boxers, hoping no one else was awake since he only slept about 3 hours. As he turned on the coffee maker, his Grunkle came in, dressed almost the same as him. Since Stan saw him, he would have to work at least until 11, around the time when Mabel wakes up. After that he might explore the woods for an hour and then go to the coffee shop to visit Bill. 

Bill

Bill is such an interesting man. Dipper had never seen him before, and he knew everyone in the small town. Dipper didn’t even have an attraction to the man, he was purely interested in learning everything he could about him. Like, yes, the man was  _ attractive _ , but Dipper didn’t feel  _ attracted _ to him. Maybe. He didn’t quite know at this point. 

**_“DIPPER!”_ **

“Huh?” Dipper squeaked out, jolted out of his brain by the voice of his Grunkle.

“How long do you think you can work today?” Stan asked, “Damn, kid, you need to get out of that crazy mess of a brain sometimes and be aware of your surroundings. It’s gonna get you killed out in those woods someday.”

“My brain is not a mess, Stan, thank you very much,” Dipper disagreed, “I pay lots of attention to everything, I’m a writer, that’s what I do.”

“Whatever you say, kid. Make sure to actually get dressed for work this time, I don’t need the tourists thinking a run a crap shack.”

Dipper snorted, “This is a crap shack. It’s not just a crap shack. It’s  _ The _ Crap Shack. Trademark me on that when you start using it.”

“You piece of,” Stan shouted, swinging at Dipper as he ran off laughing, “You better get down here in the next ten minutes! I swear I can hear the idiots coming already!”

Dipper ran back upstairs and almost fell onto Mabel coming out of the bathroom. Mabel was dressed in pink unicorn shorts, with a pink tank top that used to be sold in the Shack, until Stan noticed. He didn’t allow the Mabel-Made clothing to be sold anymore since she was taking all the profit from him. Her hair was very disheveled and she looked very annoyed to be awake at that hour. 

“Dipper, I swear if you and Stan keep teasing each other so loudly, I will never get any sleep around here,” Mabel mumbled sleepily, “You know I don’t go to bed until late at night, and I don’t want to be awake now.”

“Sorry, Mabes,” Dipper murmured, “We weren’t trying to be loud. You can go back to bed, I’m going to be working until 11 so you can sleep until then if you want.”

“Thanks bro-bro. You’re the best,” Mabel said, hugging her brother before walking back to her room. 

Dipper sat in the Shack for about 2 hours before anyone showed up. He then waited for an hour before enough people appeared for the tour. Around 11, however, a large rush of people came in and Dipper wanted nothing more than to leave and go to the calm of the coffee shop. As the clock hit 11, Mabel came rushing in, also becoming overwhelmed by the amount of people. 

“Okay, sorry Mabel but I have to go,” Dipper shouted halfway out the door. 

“Dippinsause! Wait! Don’t leave me, there's a rush!” Mabel shouted, really unsure of what she was going to do without her brother there. 

“imsorrymabeliloveyouillmakeituptoyougoodluckbye!”

Mabel stood there, mouth agape, hoping her brother would come back and help her, but knew that he wouldn't. 

* * *

 

Bill had been waiting for 3 hours, and Dipper hadn't shown up yet. He wasn't going crazy,  but he was going crazy. The blond man had a stupid, juvenile crush on a writer. **_A Writer._ ** Bill’s sexuality was always a question to himself, but at the same time, it didn't really matter to him. Sexuality was a social construct made centuries ago to put boundaries on things, and Bill hated boundaries. If there was a rule, Bill would break it. They seemed stupid to him. 

Yet, this brown haired, glasses wearing, coffee loving writer stole his heart. For the first time in Bill’s life, he had to have boundaries. 

Bill just couldn't act like his normal, dick-ish self around him. He somehow became this dorky, stumbling, stuttering mess around the guy, and he couldn't control it at all. As soon as he saw him that first day, he couldn't be around the guy acting like his normal self. Bill was more afraid of somehow acting like that around him, and one day Dipper just stopped talking to him, or worse, stopped coming in the coffee shop. 

He didn't have to worry about that now, though.

Dipper came in the doors, his exterior calm, but his eyes filled with slight stress. He set down his bag on the marble countertop, and placed his head down between his arms. With a large sigh, he picked himself back up and looked straight into Bill’s eyes. 

“You okay there bud?” Bill asked quietly, gently touching Dipper’s arm. 

“Yeah, didn't get much sleep last night, and left my sister at the Shack in the middle of a rush,” Dipper sighed out, “I feel bad about it but I let her sleep for hours and covered for her so our Grunkle wouldn't get upset with both of us for not working.”

“Hey, it's ok,” Bill said, drying off cups, “You can't control when people come in and you can't control when your shift is over. You covered for her, she can work a little bit.”

“Yeah,” Dipper sighed, “Whatever. That's in the past. Can you get me black coffee and a chocolate croissant, please?”

“Sure, croissant on the house since you seem a little stressed,” Bill stated, leaving no room for argument. 

“Fine, but if it's on the house the money that would go towards the croissant is going to your tip” 

“Wow,” Bill said in mock appreciation, slapping his hand to his chest, laughing, “I feel honored to get such an amazing tip”

Bill walked off laughing, looking back at Dipper. He had just pulled out his laptop as Bill was walking away and had no idea that he was appreciating him from afar.  His brown curly hair loosely draped over his forehead and glasses, his glasses falling down a little bit, the way he sticks out his tongue when he concentrates really hard. It was all really cute to Bill. 

As Dipper’s coffee was done being brewed, the small oven  _ dinged _ signaling that the croissant was done as well. Bill took it over to the writer, and he gave silent thanks, leaving Bill to continue working. 

* * *

 

“Hey, Bill,” Dipper called out. 

“Hm?” Bill hummed out, walking over to where Dipper was sitting.

“What supernatural creature are you most afraid of?” 

“Supernatural creature? Um…” Bill thought for a second, “Probably none. Yeah, none of them really scare me. Why?”

“No reason, no reason,” Dipper mumbled, typing away.

Bill looked at him for about a minute waiting for him to say anything else, but nothing came. Bill started walking away when,

“Wait. Bill, come back,” Dipper shouted just a little too loud, and forced his hands over his mouth since he received a few looks. especially from other employees. 

“Yes Dipper,” Bill said, starting to get a little annoyed from the writer.

“Can you... stay here and hang out with me?”

Bill was honestly surprised. So was Dipper. He had always been a bit of an introvert, not really needing to be near other people, especially when he was writing. For some reason, though, he felt the need to be around Bill when he was writing. Something about the man kept his brain running with good ideas and his calming energy was nice to be around. 

“Um, I have to work,” Bill said, pointing behind him, “like I would love to hang out with you all day but like, I might get fired.”

“Yeah, I understand, I don’t know where that came from, sorry,” Dipper responded. 

“No no it’s okay, honestly,” Bill didn’t know what to say, he never did around him. 

“Go back to your job, I’ll do mine, sorry,” Dipper apologized.

_ Damn it, _ Dipper thought,  _ Now I messed it all up and he will never want to hang out with me every again. Or in the first place. WE HAVEN’T EVEN HUNG OUT YET AND HE ALREADY HATES ME. _

Bill could see the slight panic on Dipper’s face, and said slight panic lasted until the coffee shop closed 

* * *

 

As soon as the bell rang for closing, Dipper was trying to rush out of the establishment as quickly as physically possible. He had no idea why his mouth just decided to produce that mixture of sounds and made things awkward with Bill. He just wanted to go back in time and fix it, and then things wouldn’t be awkward and Bill wouldn’t hate him. He had just made a friend and he just goes and screws it up.  _ Damn it Dipper, if your stupid body could just not for once. _

“Dipper!” Bill shouted from half a block away, half a block that Dipper didn’t know he had walked. 

_ Shit, he’s here to tell you to never talk to him again because you just fucked it up. _

“Dipper,” Bill panted, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t sit and actually hang out with you back there. You shouldn’t beat yourself up about it though. I wish we could just hang out but it seems that every time we see each other, it’s at that coffee shop.”

_ He doesn’t hate me _

Dipper’s mind stopped. His anxiety  _ literally _ convinced him that this guy who he’s known for practically no time at all hated him. He’s also  _ apologizing to him for something he didn’t even do _ . Dipper didn’t even know how to think. Well, he knew how to think, his mind was going a billion miles a minute. He didn’t know how to talk, that’s it.  _ Oh shit, Bill wants me to reply and I’ve just been walking absentmindedly.  _

“Hey, Dipper, you okay?” Bill questioned, concerned.

“YEAH, yeah, I’m good, Great, awesome, Don’t Worry About Me,” Dipper exclaimed, talking way too fast, putting emphasis on words that really did not require them.

“Sure?”

“Amazing,” Dipper whispered, making the “ok” symbol with his hand. 

“Okay, if you say so,” Bill looked around for a second, “Hey, here’s your car, make sure you get home alright.”

“I will, don’t worry,” Dipper grinned at the blond man.

“Just to make sure,” Bill took Dipper’s phone, and poked at it for a minute, “There’s my phone number, I want you to take a picture with your family when you get home and send it to me so I know you’re okay.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll make sure to do that,”  _ Is Bill gay for me or is this a normal thing people do I don’t have many friends or contacts in my phone how did he get in I have a passcode what the fu- _

“Wait, how did you get in my ph-” Dipper shouted, but was cut off by Bill, walking backwards looking back at him.

“Well I saw you put it in one time, and it made a pattern,” BIll started, “So from that I could assume it was a word or a pattern you liked, so I put in my name and somehow it worked.”

“But, it isn’t even your…” Dipper didn’t know what to say, his passcode wasn’t Bill’s name. He opened his phone and carefully put in the passcode and found out, it was, Bill’s name. When Dipper looked up again, he saw the man beaming, from about half a block away and then turn around, signaling Dipper to head home as well. 

* * *

 

When Dipper got home, Mabel was perfectly happy taking a selfie with her brother. Stan on the other hand, threatened to punch Dipper if he came close to him with his phone camera. So to fulfill Bill’s request, Dipper and Mabel snuck behind Stan’s chair, and lunged out and took the selfie before Stan could process it. By that time, the twins were running up to Dipper’s room in the attic. 

The twins started laughing so hard they were on the floor. When they finally calmed down and were just left to low laughter, they could hear Stan’s yelling about “Delete that damn picture” and “You two better not come back down here for the rest of the night” and the laughter erupted once more. 

Mabel headed to her own room right below the attic about half an hour later. Dipper still had a smile on his face all the way until he got into bed and turned off the light. He sent the picture to Bill’s number and set his phone down. 

_ Well,  _ Dipper thought,  _ I have his phone number now. _

The last thing Dipper thought of that day was Bill, and he got a full night’s sleep for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not sure if I'm going to update on Sundays or not but like, whatever. School gets out for me on Thursday so I'll have more time to write (if you guys want more), although I have summer school and I need to start college applications over the summer (lmao). I'll just keep going with the I'll-post-it-when-I-finish-it method and hope it works and if people like this story I'll make an actual schedule for it. idk right now its just fluffy cute stuff w dorks shoved in there, but I'm thinking of adding a plot. Let me know if you guys want the fluffy stuff to continue, or to add in the plot (which the fluffy stuff would stay there would just be a reason for it other than "omg coffee shop dorks being dorks i love them). 
> 
> OH BEFORE I FORGET. I have set up a tumblr for fandom stuff and fic updates and stuff, where if this story gets big or something I'll reblog fan art and stuff (and post my own art for this story and others in the future) and other general fandom fan art and stuff from the fandoms I'm apart of. the url is coffee-cream-and-pinetrees and my main blog is tinyarthoe for anyone that wants to follow that too. 
> 
> Likes, Comments, and Kudos are much appreciated!! I loved reading the comments from last time!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel vs superfuckers, coffee, alien blankets, and horrible jokes by Stan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so remember last week when I asked about adding plot or keeping up the fluffy stuff. well i didn't really get any responses for that so I'm adding a lil plot to this. it was meant to be a one shot but I ended it funny so now it's a thing.  
> btw there is texting in this chapter so Bill is bolded and Dipper is in italics  
> Enjoy!!

**_AAAHHHHHHH_ **

Dipper woke up screaming, unsure of what was going on. He went to bed happy, and was actually sleeping for a long, _long,_ time. He looked over at his clock and it read 7:00 AM.

_What the the hell was that?_

“WHAT HAPPENED BRO-BRO, I’LL FIGHT THEIR SUPERNATURAL ASS!”

“WHAT THE HELL MABEL, STOP SWINGING THAT?!”

Mabel came busting down the door, gigantic metal bat punctured with nails in hand. As soon as she had gotten past the door, she started swinging the bat around, shouting. She was dressed in another Shack souvenir shirt and some of Dipper’s old shorts that didn’t fit him anymore.

“How did you get that bat?” Dipper questioned.

“Um, nowhere,” Mabel said, dropping the bat on the ground, “What happened, you screamed?”

“I don’t know,,” Mabel smiled, “I guess the very end of whatever dream I was having turned nightmarish so I was forced out of my mindscape or something.”

“Well I’m glad to hear that you slept all night,” Mabel said, placing her hand on her brother’s shoulder, “but maybe we should ask Stan about it?”

“No, no, we don’t need to do that,” Dipper sighed, pulling out the journals from under his bed, “We just need to look in here as to what can get into my head and narrow it down. It could also be something I breathed in from the woods before I got home last night.”

“If you’re sure,” Mabel said, pulling her brother into a hug, “Just know I’m here to fight those superfuckers anytime.”

As Mabel left the room, Dipper looked through the journals looking for what could have gotten into his head: supernatural being or supernatural substance he inhaled in the woods the day before. About 20 minutes later Bill texted him.

**hey, what’s up? u wanna hang out today??**

_Don’t you have work or something???_

**Nah, off today B))**

_Wow, the guy that works practically all the time finally has a day off. What will I do when I go to the coffee shop without you there to entertain me??_

**well 1 I have coffee at my house I can make u 2 I’m also making choc croissants rn so u can have those if u come over 3 its not my job to entertain u**

_Omg then I’m coming over, as long as you don’t mind if I bring my laptop so I can get at least a little writing done since you’re off today._

**ya, just come over already loser**

Dipper set down his phone on his bed and walked over to his closet. He pulled out a red and blue flannel and a pair of black jeans, and then slipped on a pair of black sneakers. Dipper sat down on the bed and looked around for a pair of socks. _Mismatched and clean_ Dipper thought _what a wonderful, almost exact representation of me._ After slipping his shoes on he walked over to the bathroom, fixed his hair, brushed his teeth, and then walked downstairs.

“Stan I’m leaving to hang out with a friend, I’ll be back eventually,” Dipper shouted into the seemingly empty house.

“You have friends?” Stan questioned.

Dipper frowned. “Yes, I do have friends. Mabel isn’t the only one around here with friends, Stan.”

“Whatever,” Stan waved him off walking away, “Don’t die. If you can’t help dying, come back here and tell me who killed you so I can get their money.”

Dipper got into his car and looked at his phone for the directions Bill gave him. _Hm, he lives in another town._ Dipper put the address into his phone and drove for about half an hour and found himself on the other side of the forest from Gravity Falls. _Wow,_ Dipper realized, _the coffee shop is in another town. The town looks similar to Gravity Falls since it basically merges with it._ As Dipper parked in Bill’s apartment parking lot, the blond man texted him directions to his apartment.

“Hey!” Bill said, opening the door, “You can put your stuff down anywhere, the coffee’s almost done brewing.”

Dipper walked in and breathed in the smell of freshly baked chocolate croissants. He placed his bag down on the circular, white table near the door. Dipper looked around the small apartment. To the left of the table was a small kitchen, also white. Straight across from the door was a long, squarish, black couch with similar black chairs, all surrounding a flat screen TV. The TV had a documentary about ancient Egypt on.

“Here’s your coffee, Mr. Pines,” Bill said, handing Dipper’s coffee to him.

“Why, thank you Mr. Cipher,” Dipper replied, tipping his head a little in thanks. Dipper walked over to the table where he set his stuff down and opened his laptop.

“If you don’t mind, since you’re writing, I’m going to keep watching this documentary on Egypt,” Bill said, pointing to the TV after setting his cup down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

“Yeah, that’s totally okay. Keep doing what you’re doing, don’t mind me over here.”

 

* * *

 

Dipper couldn’t concentrate on writing.

He really wanted to watch that documentary.

“Hey, Bill,” Dipper murmured, “could I maybe come over there and watch that with you?”

“Uh, y-yeah, yeah, totally,” Bill stuttered, moving over to one side of the couch, “you can come sit here since those other chairs don’t give you as good of a view of the TV.”

“Thanks,” Dipper said, sitting on the left side of the long couch.

“Do you want a blanket?” Bill asked, getting up and moving to the closet on the other side of the room, “it’s getting kinda chilly in here.”

“Uh, sure,” Dipper said.

Bill pulled out a couple of blankets, “So I have this green one, this black one with alien emojis on it, or this huge fluffy one we could share.”

“I’m fine sharing if you are,” Dipper offered.

“Okay,” Bill said, putting the other blankets up and padding over to the couch, “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Dipper said, accepting his share of the blanket. He stretched his legs across the couch just as Bill did and their feet crashed into each other. “Sorry, sorry,” Dipper explained flustered.

“Here, stretch your legs out,” Bill explained putting Dipper’s legs back on the couch, then proceeding to put his legs in the gaps left of the couch, “You put your legs there and then mine go here! If you wanna move them around you can, I’ll move mine accordingly. You are the guest after all, I want you to be comfortable here.”

After that the two men continued to watch the documentary. When it got to the part about the pyramids, Dipper offered a theory about aliens or other supernatural creatures helping to build it. Bill laughed and offered that maybe the egyptian gods helped them to build it, making it possible for them to build the great monuments in such short amounts of time. The two continued to spit out theory after theory until Dipper’s phone went off.

“Sorry! I’ll go get it,” he exclaimed, almost jumping off the couch from how fast he was moving. Dipper ran over to his phone on the table and answered the call.

“Hey Mabes, yeah, I’m hanging out with someone,” he looked over to Bill, “Oh shit, okay I’ll be home soon, bye.”

After hanging up the phone he started packing up his stuff. “Sorry for having to leave I didn’t realize how long I was here, my sister was getting worried. We need to hang out again sometime though.”

“Definitely,” Bill said, picking up the empty mugs of coffee, “I’ll obviously see you at the coffee shop, but you should come back here soon.”

“For sure,” Dipper huffed out a bit frantically, trying to get home as quickly as possible, “we can figure that out tonight or even tomorrow. You have work tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, I work most days.”

“Ok then we’ll figure it out tomorrow then,” Dipper said, finally having everything packed up and his shoes on.

“Get home safe,” Bill said, pulling the shorter man into a hug, startling him from the sudden contact, “Text me when you get there so I know you got home and didn’t get attacked by a bear or something.”

“Uh, ye-yeah,” Dipper stuttered out, slightly frazzled from the hug, “See you tomorrow.”

Dipper left the apartment a bit confused over the hug. _Why did Bill hug him? Did Bill have feelings for him? Is that what normal friends do? Did Dipper have feelings for Bill? Is that why he’s flustered?_ It didn’t matter. Dipper drove home just thinking, not even realizing that he made it home. As soon as he made it home, Mabel almost tackled him in the middle of the doorway.

“Where were you all day, bro-bro? I was worried!” Mabel shouted.

“Mabes, I’m fine, didn’t Stan tell you I was with a friend all day?”

“What, he didn’t- GRUNKLE STAN,” Mabel shouted throughout the house, tugging her brother with her by the wrist, “WHY DID YOU TELL ME DIPPER WENT INTO THE WOODS WITH NOTHING AND HE WAS RESEARCHING HOW LONG YOU CAN PESTER A GNOME UNTIL IT BRINGS YOU TO NEAR DEATH!?”

“STAN YOU TOLD HER WHAT!?” Dipper yelled, “WHY WOULD I GO BOTHER A GNOME AGAIN?”

When the twins found their Grunkle he was on the floor in front of his chair, laughing so hard he was crying. His face was so red, it looked like it was about to turn purple. The twins stood there, unamused with him, arms crossed.

“Y-you kids are so fu-fucking funny to mess with,” Stan could barely stop laughing enough to talk, “How you guys started screaming like a dead body fell from the ceiling in front of you, Gods, it was so funny.”

“Yeah, okay Stan, very funny, haha amazing joke,” Dipper said, “I’m going to go up to my room and sleep since you guys had me convinced someone was dying.”

Dipper walked up the stairs and opened the door to his room. He kicked his shoes off and plugged his laptop into the charger before grabbing a new pair of underwear and a shirt and walking into the bathroom across the hall. Dipper dropped the clean clothes onto the floor and then stripped of the ones on his body and turned on the water. He just let the water fall over his body and wash away the confusion that was still lingering on him from Bill’s house.

Dipper honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about the man. Yes, he was his friend, and yes, he found him attractive. Dipper just wasn’t sure about whether or not what he was feeling was crossing that line of _knowing_ he was attractive and _finding_ him attractive. Dipper wasn’t even sure if he was gay. Or bi for that matter. He didn’t know if he was acquiring feelings for the blond man, but he knew he wanted to be around him and at the very least, be his friend.

As Dipper finished his shower, he could hear his phone go off in his pants just outside the shower. He dried himself off, he picked up the phone and saw a text from Bill. _Shit, I was supposed to text him when I got home._ He unlocked his phone and saw the message from him.

**hey, get home safe??**

_Yeah, I did. Thanks for asking :)_

**np just wanted to make sure you got home ok and u didnt text me so i got a little concerned lmao**

_Oh, yeah, sorry. My sister tackled me when I walked in the door because my great uncle made up some story I went into the woods and was gonna die._

**thats a bit gruesome. well I need to go to bed since I have work tomorrow and I need ot run some errands beforehand.**

_Go to bed, working man. Hope you sleep well :)_

**night pine tree**

_Goodnight, Cipher._

 

* * *

 

_t̩̣̪̮̜̯̣͟h̪̱̼̟̘͖͉ ̛̳͕̰̞͚̫͈o͕̝̣̣̺͘i̷̲̗̪̜͖̘̱̫͞ͅl͏̸̱̰̖̰̜̹̜͖͢ͅd̸̹͠ ̧̪̺͝͝k̶̻̗̞͈̘͉̺͈̻̕n҉͉͓̻̫̺͝ͅͅͅu̟̕͞ ̶̧̺͉̘̟̼͇̱͎͢u̵̶̷͚͇̻̪̖̱͙i̟͚̫͖͎͟y͓͉̩͖̘̲̱̤͘̕͜f͙̹̪̭̬̠̞ḻ̪̥̝̻͙͎́ ̶̞̮̭͈̣̪̫͞d̨͏̨͚͚͈̱͖̺̭s̨͍̩y̤̯̹̙͙͜͝w͖̪̜̥̖̪͕͓͞ ̡҉̙̀a҉̴͎̪̘n̩̣̦͚m͓̝̝̞͔͎̰͖͘͜͠ţ̢̞̱̬̣ ͉̻̹̺̤̲͉͟e͔̭͈̗͖̰̕ ̩̪̪͘b̶̹̥̠̬͖̪̘͓c҉̮͍ò̷̰̥̟͈̩͠u̱̯̘͎̺͝͡í̵͕͙͠ ͏̰̝͉̠͉̖̙o͈̪̟͚͟p̷̳̬̪͡ͅ ҉̵̣͔̲t̯̙̫̝͇͓̩̫ḩ̪͖̗͇̥̹̰̙͡ͅy̷̴̢̗̫̪̼͕̤a̡͉͕̝̻̙̗͉̫̟͘l̼̗̝̀ţ̹͕̖̲͔͈̦͎r̙͎͡͝i̸͏̟̯ờ̟̭͖͕͠ͅ_

_͏̴̘̤̮̬i̫̲̺͉̭͇͈͜ ̷̭͚̙͎̰̩͘m̵̛̛̺̫͕̥̪̟̘w̨͏̪̩̱o̵̵̬̯͜r̛͚̟̭̤̩͖̼̱͞ ͔͚̣̩̠͚̹̕é̳͝a͞͏̞̦̖̰̰͈̲͝e̟̭̪̕m̺̘͖ ̗͚̳͖̘̫b̨̨͈͉̮̪̠͈h͉̬̤͍̭ḍ̢̩̫͍̮d̷͉̣̦̳ṭ͔͟ ̶̨̗͔̜̝̳̬͈h̴̞͜͡m̸̧̮͚͎͓̫̥̙͈̲u̯̱̝͔̯̯͖i̶̲̩͍͉̺͙͘ͅ ̷̰̯̜͙̣l̡̨̦ͅe̯̰͈̘̯ ̷̛̘͔̘̻̻̪̩͝m̢̤͕̹ś͖͈̘̬͎̻̭̰͘o͉͈̭͠ ̢̯̹̘͈͖͚ͅͅa̺̹t̥͚̙͞e̤̜̪̲̞̕l͢͏̜d̞̙̱̝͙̮̠͇̩͝ ̘̠̭͖̜̜̻͙͈́c̠͠t̸̨͕̤̩̝̖h̲͎̱͞i̷̬̻̮͖̰͚͚̖i̵̻͕̺͙͍͡ ̯͝l҉҉͚͎̪̣̪̯̟͈d̷͈̮̞́͝k̭̳̫̫ơ̜̘̟ ̷̠̼̣̯͈̦͚̣̠͠ù͕m̧̩̤̱̣̥̪̗̀͘n͍̗͇͈̱ ̶̡͇̮͓̞͚̞o̯̦̜̺͙̣͘͡ẉ̷̛̻̪̰͇̩͞h͉̼̻͙̥̼̻͙o̵̞̖̝̙̜͔̝͓̕͡w͚̣̼a̸̱̥̘g̻͎̻̝ ̰͎͈̞̦z͉̝̣̥͓̪̀͜ͅ ̤̰̘͕̕͜a͏͍̩̲̟̩͔̻n̢̬̝̞͍_

_͓̝͙͉́̀z̹͈̯͍h̤̲̥̜̪ͅ ̵̥̣̹̮y̨͖̣̭̠̪ͅo҉̭̣͉̞͎̥̖͍̯a̸͇̞͎̠͎̙̦͡ ̴̳̹͈͢c̵̸̳͇̟͟a̢̯͇͘͢o͘҉̲̞̤ ҉͏͏̖̦̯m҉̝̝̟̣̥͓͍̙a̶̮̬s̳̜͓̬̩o̬̭̹̖͜ ̖̯͚͟͢į̪̟͇͙̹̪a̭̱̻̞̜̤͙͡ ̣̱͎̦͡ͅn̢͈̯o͚̩͉̗̠̱̝̼a̶̟̫̲̳͡ ̖̫̱̬̪t̵̶̻̰̮̳o̴̱̻͖̞̟̖̙m̼̬̥̼̕͠ẉ̸̠̻̱̼̘͓͜n̵̨̺̗̙̩̱l̼̳̻͓g҉̸̖͈ ̻̜́k̫͇̞͔͕̕ ̠͙͞u̴̲̺̦i͍̘̭_

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha creepy text what does it mean?? for me to know and u to find out lmao
> 
> so basically 0 plot in this one but I literally had to make an outline on google docs to try and figure it out and its p good if i do say so myself B))
> 
> again, my tumblr for this fic and other fandom stuff is coffee-cream-and-pinetrees and my aesthetic-y main blog is tinyarthoe. once I get enough followers on notmymainblogplsfollowtheotheronemoreorilldeleteit then I'll post fic updates and previews and such things like that if u guys are enjoying the story!
> 
> Kudos and Comments are much appreciated! I loved reading the comments from the last few chapters!!
> 
> Have a lovely day, love you guys!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is late. like almost a week late.  
> Lucky for you I was aiming for the usual word count and managed to basically double it, so yay!! extra long chapter!!  
> I'm going to start listing the main songs I listened to while writing so if you want to, pick one and listen along
> 
> Daydream (ft Faheem & Blair) - Argüello  
> All Time Low - Jon Bellion  
> Cheap Thrills - Sia ft Sean Paul

Dipper shot out of the bed for the second day in a row. Sweat covered his entire face and soaked his shirt. He ran a hand through his hair to find it, unsurprisingly, completely soaked. Dipper looked over to the clock next to his bed.  **7:00 AM** .  _ Well then, at least I’m doing better lengthwise in the sleeping department.  _ Breathing slowing to a normal rhythm, Dipper got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. 

After locking the door, Dipper turned on the water in the shower, checking the temperature occasionally. Removing the sweat-drenched clothing, he stepped into the shower. He let the water run over his body, helping him to calm down and set back into reality. Dipper grabbed Mabel’s Peach Paradise body wash and began to scrub away the darkness that had ran through his mind and across his body. Dipper washed the sweat from his hair, turned off the water, and stepped out of into the steamy, yet cold, bathroom. Drying off, Dipper walked across the hallway, back to his room to put fresh clothes on. 

Fully dressed in a light blue t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, Dipper sat on his bed. Suddenly, a buzzing came from his nightstand. Opening his phone, he found about 3 texts from Bill. 

**morning ;)**

**:)***

**god damn it**

Dipper started snorting, as he read the messages on the lock screen. As he unlocked his phone, it buzzed again indicating another message. 

**What r u doing today??**

**obviously me**

**jkjk lmao**

Dipper couldn’t stop laughing as the onslaught of messages flooded his phone. Every message better than the last. Dipper laughed so hard and for so long, that he didn’t reply for a while. Another buzz.

**u have read receipts i can tell u saw my messages come on dude just a “fuck off” would suffice**

**I would b sad**

**but at least it would b a reply**

_ Sorry, sorry, I was just laughing so hard I totally forgot to reply. I’ll most likely be going to the coffee shop at one point today, and then come home and sleep. _

**nice**

_ You work today, right? _

**ye**

_ Awesome, I’ll be seeing you then. _

Dipper got up from the bed and made his way downstairs towards the gift shop. He walked into the kitchen to brew his first coffee for the day, patting a very tired Mabel on the head before leaving. Sitting down behind the counter, he sipped at his coffee for a while, enjoying the silence of the shop. 

Rays of sunlight making their way into the room, creating warm stripes across the wooden floor and towers of cheap souvenirs. It was still early in the morning, so the warmth of the rising sun washed the room full of yellows and oranges. Summer was coming, but the gift shop was still a bit cold. 

After sipping at his coffee for twenty minutes, Dipper got up from his stool and flipped the sign on the door from  _ closed  _ to  _ open, _ prepared for the daily wave of tourists. 

  
  


Dipper looked at his watch for the sixth time that morning, ready to leave to get over to the coffee shop and see Bill.  _ Only about five more minutes, you can do that Dipper. You’ve been stuck with monsters for hours, five minutes is nothing.  _ After those five minutes, Dipper called over to his sister across the store. 

“Hey, Mabel,” Dipper shouted across the store, his sister’s head peeking over one of the towers of souvenirs, “I’m gonna head out to go write, I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Wait, Dip-dop,” Mabel got up and ran over to her brother, almost knocking over a couple of tourists, “Where do you keep going everyday? It’s like every second that you get that’s not working here, you’re gone. I’m concerned about where you keep going.”

_ Well, I never really tell anyone where I’m going, I just tell them I’m leaving to go write,  _ Dipper thought. 

“I just go to a coffee shop in the next town over, it’s only a twenty minute drive. I can take you there tomorrow if you’d like,” Dipper told his sister.

Mabel’s eyes lit up, a smile creeping on her face, “Aww, bro-bro, I’d love to!” Mabel flung herself at her brother, forcing him into a hug. Dipper complied, hugging his twin back. 

“Hey, you two!” Stan shouted at the twins, “You two are taking up space in here, either work or get out!”

“Sorry, Stan. I’m leaving right now, I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Dipper told his Grunkle, picking up his coffee mug and placing it in the kitchen sink before grabbing his laptop bag from his room. He made sure that he had everything in his bag before walking back downstairs. 

“Wait, Dipper I need to tell you something before you leave,” Mabel shouted, again, almost trampling tourists as she shoved Dipper out the door and walked him to his car.

“What is it Mabel?” Dipper asked, confused why Mabel had to push him outside of the shop to talk to him. She was looking around to make sure no one was around or could hear them. 

“I’m just wondering if, when you go to that coffee shop,” Mabel placed her hand on her twin’s shoulder, “If you have a secret girlfriend you’re meeting up with,” 

Dipper’s eyes went wide 

“Or a boyfriend,” Mabel put her hands up, “I don’t judge bro-bro, I just want you to be happy, but I want to know if that’s why you leave everyday.”

Dipper started snorting, unable to keep his laughter in.

“Hey! Don’t start laughing I am legitimately concerned about you Dipper! Before it was only maybe a few days a week, and suddenly it became everyday that you would leave in the mornings and not come back until it was almost dark out. I want to know where my twin is, and when he _leaves_ _and doesn’t come back until dark_ _with no explanation_ I get concerned about where he’s been,” Mabel told him, tears beginning to form in her brown eyes.  
“Mabes, it’s okay,” Dipper comforted, “Yes I met someone, but it’s not like that. We’re just friends. He’s,” Mabel started smiling, tears suddenly gone, “very interesting and funny, not the kind of person you usually meet around here. I think you guys would become great friends as well.” 

Mabel started laughing, and punched her brother in the arm, “Get some bro-bro!,” Dipper rolled his eyes, “He better not hurt you. This ‘just friends’ stuff isn’t gonna last for long, I know you.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever you say, Mabes,” Dipper said, putting his bag inside of his car, “I’ll see you later.”

Dipper drove away from the Mystery Shack, all the while Mabel was giving him  _ the look _ and two thumbs up. He shook his head as he made his way to the cute coffee shop. 

 

∞∆∞

 

Dipper pulled up to the shop, grabbed his bag and exited the car. Dipper walked up to the coffee shop and went through the large glass door and up to the counter. He checked on some things on his phone while waiting in line, which didn’t prepare him for what he was going to find when he went up to order. 

“Hey,” Dipper started, still looking down at his phone. 

“Hey, Dipper! Haven’t taken your order for a while now, have I?” A familiar,  _ female _ , voice replied back.   
“Y-yeah, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it,” Dipper sputtered out, not really prepared for someone other than Bill to take his order. “Um, bla-”

“Black coffee, chocolate croissant. I got you Dipper!” chirped the woman, as she cut Dipper off. She smiled and told Dipper the total he was very familiar with, and he walked away with a half-genuine smile. Dipper walked up the stairs to the additional seating above the establishment, and looked over the railing to try and find Bill. He couldn’t find the blond anywhere, and he didn’t even realize his order had arrived to him minutes later.  _ Maybe his shift starts soon and that’s why he’s not here yet.  _ Dipper sighed and opened his bag to remove his laptop. Placing the device on the uneven wooden table, Dipper opened up his document to start writing. 

Dipper didn’t quite know what he wanted to write about.  _ Well no shit, you barely even started. Everything up until now has been random prompts to get you started. You don’t even have any real characters. You were working on it when you first met Bill.  _

_ Bill _

_ Where is he? _

Dipper looked over the edge again, down at all the employees behind the counter that he could see. No Bill.  _ Concentrate.  _

Dipper opened a couple more documents and began to brainstorm characters. He based one off of Mabel, Stan, and himself since they all experienced the events that the book is based off of. He created the major characters of the different supernatural beings, and any other people that were significant in different adventures. Dipper then opened his notes, a document that is filled to the brim with amazing ideas and general thoughts. Dipper scrolled through the document for about 5 minutes, sipping his coffee, when a certain note caught his attention. ‘Name character Bill’

_ Maybe he came in by now,  _ Dipper looked over the ledge,  _ No, not yet. _

Dipper checked his phone, only to find no messages from Bill. Or anyone for that matter.  _ Wow I’m so popular. _ He continued to sip his coffee and eat his pastry while browsing his notes. After an hour or so he began writing a random adventure, although it would obviously be very important later on in the novel. As he was writing he just put the real names of the characters instead of their actual names he made up, since he hadn’t really gotten that far. 

 

**_They ran, ran as fast as they could with their small legs. Dipper looked back at the large beast chasing them, to find it gaining speed. Mabel looked at Dipper trying to communicate something with him, but when he couldn’t understand, she did it anyway. She sprinted at twice the speed she was already running at, so far away that Dipper couldn’t see her for a few seconds and suddenly he saw a flash of pink moving throughout the branches of the forest. The sudden split of the two children confused the beast, sending him straight into a tree. Dipper used this opportunity to run and climb the trees as quickly as he could, him and his sister using the height to make their way back home without the monster really noticing. Even though the monster couldn’t climb trees, it could still grab them at the level that they were at._ **

**_“Mabel, try to get higher up,” Dipper shouted to his sister. One of the benefits of the monster was that it had horrible hearing and sight, but still could see colors._ **

**_“Okay!” Mabel shouted back. Dipper climbed higher and made his way to his sister._ **

**_“Mabel, you need to take your sweater off. I think that’s why the monster is still chasing us,” Dipper told his sister, looking down to find the monster looking straight at them._ **

**_“But Dipper, I love this sweater,” Mabel questioned, disappointed._ **

**_“Put it in my backpack, I have an extra shirt that you can wear.”_ **

**_“Fine,” Mabel said, removing her sweater. Dipper removed the extra dark blue shirt, and shoved Mabel’s bright pink sweater into the bag. As he put it back on his back, Mabel was already dressed and ready to keep running. DIpper looked down and found that the monster looked confused as where they went from the lack of pink in the neutral forest._ **

**_The twins jumped across the branches as fast as they could, able to see outside the forest in the distance. Dipper looked back and saw the monster fumbling around, trying to find the twins. They continued to run and eventually climbed down as they reached the edge of the forest._ **

 

Dipper was quite proud of his writing, even if it was short and not very well written at that moment. It didn’t really matter though, it was something. Dipper looked over the ledge one last time to still find no Bill. He closed his laptop and began putting all of his belongings back into his bag. Picking up his cup and plate, Dipper headed downstairs and gave the dishes to a barista behind the counter. Waving goodbye to the friendly faces that work there, Dipper walked out the door and towards his car. 

He looked down at his watch, and it read 4 pm. The brunet man sighed and made his way down the street to his car. Dipper unlocked the car once it came into view, and placed his bag in the passenger seat before walking around to the other side and slipping into the driver’s seat. He clicked his seatbelt into place and plugged his phone into the charger, and then proceeded to turn on the engine. Dipper pulled out from the parking spot and as he drove past the coffee shop, he saw a certain blond wearing a grey coat and all black walk in through the glass door. Dipper’s eyes went wide, and as he approached the red light he hit his head on the steering wheel and sighed. 

 

∞∆∞

 

Bill walked into work, brushing past the obnoxious customers to punch in. Putting his coat in the small closet, Bill put on his happy face and began taking orders. He really didn’t like the job, but the employee discount was so good he couldn’t leave quite yet. The other good thing was that Dipper came so often he could talk to him if he was ever feeling down. It sucked that the brunet didn’t know of his feelings, but he was happy for the friendship anyway.  

About half an hour later Bill’s phone buzzed in his pocket. As soon as there was a gap in the amount of customers he checked his phone. 

_ Hey. Um, I wanted to let you know that I came into the coffee shop today for a couple of hours. You weren’t there and so I left. Um, after I pulled out of my parking spot, I noticed you walking in. I was already on my way home so I’m there now. Sorry for not being there to entertain you, but maybe today you can get some work done haha _

Bill just stood there for a moment staring at his phone. He missed Dipper coming in. He missed Pine Tree coming to visit. 

“Excuse me,  _ sir _ , could you maybe do your job and take my order?”

Bill looked up at the woman, annoyance in his eyes. She was chewing gum, and wearing workout attire. The woman had a blonde bob haircut, the haircut that says  _ I-want-to-talk-to-the-manager _ written all over it. She also had an eyebrow color that was far too dark for her blonde hair, and even too dark for the brunette roots making themselves known. Her foundation was a different color than her neck as she decided not to blend it, and one of her false eyelashes looked like it was going to fall right off her face if a small gust of wind were to hit her face. She also had her phone out, placed between her hand and hip while she was talking to him. 

“Of course, ma’am,” Bill said placing his phone on the counter, voice filled with sarcasm, “What can I get you?”

“I want a skinny mocha frap, but with almond milk and no sugar,” she said, chewing her gum very loudly.

“I’m sorry ma’am, this isn’t Starbucks. If you could chose something from the menu,” Bill spat, pointing up the the chalkboard behind him, “it would be preferred. If not, I’m sorry to tell you that we cannot make that and you can go to the Starbucks in the next town over.”

The woman looked at him slack jawed, gum almost falling out. Bill gave her a look that could scare almost anyone, and she grabbed her bag that she had placed on the counter out of Bill’s vision, and huffed out the door. One of the other barista’s, Alex, pat him on the back and whispered “damn dude, nice” as she walked past. Bill’s mood lightened after sassing the woman and he was able to text Dipper throughout his shift. 

 

_ Haha, she said what?? _

**she wanted this ridiculous drink that sounded like it was from starbucks. but I don’t even think they could make that complicated ass drink**

_ Oh. My. God. That is insane. _

**yeah, ur tellin me**

**I was so close to slapping her, she was pissing me off so much**

_ You got mad?? Damn, it must have been insane. I’ve never seen you mad before.  _

**you keep me calm pine tree**

_ When did you start calling me Pine Tree anyway?? I remember it just happening one day _

**idk I thought it would b rad and it is it fits u**

**don’t judge me**

**ok**

**ok**

_ Haha okay I won’t judge you. It’s cute, I need to think of one for you. _

**idk, u could just call me cipher, bc u need to deCIPHER me lmao**

_ Wow, okay, sure, I’ll do that. Although I don’t know if I need to decipher you. I feel like I know you pretty well for how long we’ve been friends, and how good of friends we’ve become.  _

**lmao ok**

Bill checked the time at the top of his phone and decided it was late enough to have the shop open. He walked around and made sure no one was sitting on the floor or anything before he made his way to the above alcove. After finding no one there, Bill walked back downstairs and let Alex know that there wasn’t anyone left and that they should lock up early. Alex nodded and started grabbing her stuff from the closet. Bill walked back out and began to turn everything off, including most of the lights. He went back to the back room past the kitchen to grab his things as well. All the while, his phone was buzzing from texts from Dipper. Bill grabbed his coat, plugged in his earbuds to his phone, and locked up once he made sure Alex wasn’t inside. 

**sorry, I was locking up but I’m walking home now**

_ Oh, it’s okay. I just sent you some articles online I thought were funny.  _

**I’ll text u when I get home, I don’t wanna get hit by a car**

Bill put his phone in his pocket, and made the rest of the walk back to his apartment listening to his music. He walked through the darkened streets, hands in his pockets. As he made his way into the building and up to his floor, Tad Strange came running to the elevator as the door were closing. Unfortunately, Tad made it in the elevator. 

“Hey Bill,” Tad huffed, bent over with his hands on his knees. “Beautiful night isn’t it.”

“Yeah, it is, Tad,” Bill said, trying not to look at Tad getting up and stepping  _ slightly _ closer to him. The elevator stopped and the doors opened and both men got out.

“How is that coffee shop you work at? I went in today and you weren’t there,” Tad said, leaning against the door frame once they made it to Bill’s apartment.

“It’s good. I obviously was closing so I was there later.”

“I went about an hour ago.”   
“Maybe I was in the back.”   
Tad squinted his brown eyes at Bill, putting his face closer to the blond’s. Bill moved his face back a few inches from the close proximity to the man. Tad looked him up and down a few times and then stood fully.    
“Well, Bill,” Tad said, looking Bill in the eyes, “Have a nice night.”

As Tad went into the apartment next to his, Bill sighed and unlocked the door to his home. He hung his coat up on the coat rack, and kicked off his shoes. Bill waked over to the fridge and grabbed his huge water bottle and walked to his bedroom. Bill took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the messages from Dipper as he plugged his phone into the charger. 

_ After I came home, my sister and I went into the woods next to our house and found gnomes... Again..  _

_ They were terrified of us though because we annihilated them years ago. Both of us have also grown a foot or so.  _

_ How do you feel about supernatural stuff?  _

_ I hope you don’t think I’m crazy.. _

_ [ Attachment ] _

Bill opened the photo to find Dipper and who he assumed to be his twin sister taking a selfie in front of a bunch of angry gnomes. Bill laughed a bit before replying.

**supernatural stuff is interesting to me**

**I wonder what it takes to kill them or what they are as creatures**

**usually I don’t go looking for them**

**I also have never seen any before**

He put his phone down and stripped down of his work clothes to an old tank top and a pair of flannel pajama pants. He went into the bathroom across from his bed and brushed his teeth and washed his face. Bill walked back over to his bed and slipped under the blankets, turning off the light next to his bed. Picking up his phone from the side table he decided to finish up texting Dipper. 

_ You should come with me and Mabel next time we go to the forest. Of course on your next day off, and if you want to. _

_ Also Mabel is coming with me to the coffee shop tomorrow. _

_ Sorry _

_ lmao _

**wow, look who’s started using lmao**

**it’s like I started influencing u or something**

_ You have not _

**have too**

**whatever pine tree**

**I’m going to bed**

_ Night, Cipher _

**night, pine tree**

Bill smiled for a while after the exchange. He really knew that he liked the writer. He was interesting, and brought out the best in him. It was sad that Pine Tree didn’t know that much about him. 

Worse was that he might hate him if he found out about Bill’s past.

Bill didn’t know if he could live without Pine Tree at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I tried to follow a schedule but its kinda hard bc it is summer for me and I also have summer school to deal with every damn day so idk. If I can I'll post another on Sunday, if not it will happen when it happens.   
> my tumblr is coffee-cream-and-pinetrees.tumblr.com which is where all my fandom stuff is  
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh lordy, this is late. really late. like a month or something.  
> well just know its longer than usual and I'm so so so so so so SO sorry for not updating in a while.

“Come on Dipdop! We gotta go!”

Dipper opened his eyes to find his sister’s smiling face mere inches away from his. Frowning, he rolled over in his bed to try and get a few more minutes of sleep. Mabel, obviously, noticed.

“Oh no you don’t!” Mabel screeched, throwing Dipper on the floor. “We gotta go see your boyfriend~”

“Oh my god Mabel,” Dipper muttered, “It feels too damn early for YOU to be waking ME up considering you don’t usually get up until 11 on most days. What time is it anyway?”

“10:30”

“Dear lord,” Dipper covered his face with his hands, dragging them down slowly to try and wake himself up. “Okay, I’ll be ready in about 15 minutes. Let me wake up, take a shower, and get dressed, okay?”

“Okie dokie, bro bro.” Mabel skipped out of the room almost slamming the door.

Once Dipper knew his twin was gone, he dragged himself up off the floor and grabbed some random clothes from his closet and trudged over to the bathroom across the hall. Dipper closed the door and turned on the shower, almost falling in the tub from how tired he was. He removed his shirt and boxers and stepped into the shower. Screaming, Dipper jolted awake from the sudden jolt of hot water on his skin. He quickly showered as the sudden bursts of warmer water seemed to never end, and almost jumped out into the cold bathroom. A large chill went up his spine as the colder air of the surrounding bathroom hit his bare, wet skin.

Dipper got ready and went back in his room to get his phone. Unlocking it, he noticed some messages. The first few were from Bill:

**morning**

**I go into work at 11 so anytime after that would be good**

**I hope ur sister doesnt hate me lmao**

Dipper smiled as he read the messages. It felt really nice to wake up to morning texts. The more recent texts were from Mabel:

DIP DOP GET DOWN HERE NOW

I wanna go ;-;

I woke up early for this so u better get ur butt down here nOW

u have 2 mintues or I’m coming up there

The last message was from a minute ago so he scrambled to get his shoes and rushed out the door. From his sudden gain of speed, he almost fell down the stairs. Mabel laughed at him when he fell down on Stan’s chair.

“Bro bro, holy shit,” Mabel was laughing so hard that she proceeded to fall on the floor, “I see that you got my last message.”

Dipper huffed a bit while he slipped on his shoes, messily tying them. He stood up, glaring at his sister as he walked across the room to get his car keys. Mabel slowly followed him, due to her extreme case of the giggles, and out the door. The twins entered Dipper’s car and drove off towards the coffee shop.

 

When they arrived, Dipper parked about a block away and the two Pines made their way towards the eatery. The first thing Mabel noticed was the white outside of the building that towered above her. As she ducked around the small corner past the glass door, her jaw dropped. The place was packed, as it usually was in the morning. Although it was packed, they hadn’t opened the additional balcony seating since most were just grabbing a coffee or tea and leaving for work. Mabel’s heeled boots made a slight thump on the marble flooring as she walked on it. She looked up at the drink menu to find it to be a chalkboard surrounded with decorative vines and a gold frame. Next to the staircase leading upstairs, there was an archway leading to the restrooms and additional outdoor seating behind the building.

Mabel followed her brother to the line only a few feet away from them, and browsed the menu. She understood why her brother ended up coming here everyday; the place was absolutely gorgeous and would seem very calming when not filled to the brim with people. When the two made it up to the counter she noticed the cute arrangement of teas that you could buy and take home with you. Then she noticed the man behind the counter.

Tall but not too tall, shaggy yet styled blond hair, bright yet somewhat pale blue/green eyes. Those eyes, however, were locked on Dipper and seemed like they were exploding with love for the being that they were looking at. Then Dipper said her name, and Mabel was brought back into reality.

“Bill, this is my sister Mabel,” Dipper said, pointing at his twin, “Mabel, this is Bill. We met here at the coffee shop and he keeps me company while I write.”

“Nice to meet you, Bill,” Mabel greeted, giving Bill the I-know-how-you-feel-about-my-sibling look.

“Nice to meet you too. Now what can I get you, Mabel?” Bill asked, giving a relieved yet nervous look in return to Mabel.

“Vanilla Iced Mocha, please.”

“Okay, and I already know what you want, so that will be $13.98.”

“Damn, Mabel, you’re pricey. I forgot about that,” Dipper commented.

“I like the fine things in life, and sometimes those things are more expensive than others.” She replied, matter of factly.

“You sound like Pacifica.”

“Maybe. She might be rubbing off on me.”

“Hey,” Bill interrupted, “Sorry to interupt, but there are other people here who wanna get their fix. You can open balcony though, and I’ll bring you your drinks in a few.”

Dipper grabbed his changed from Bill and waved him goodbye before heading upstairs. Mabel followed and grabbed a table along the brass banister, overlooking the entire cafe. The tables and chairs were the same as downstairs, but upstairs had a more homey vibe. Instead of marble there was carpet. There was less light since there were only a few lightbulbs hanging around. There were also wooden bookcases that held board games, books, magazines, and various decorative items. Mabel set down her phone on the table and looked at her brother.

“Dude, just wanna tell you that you are very smart-”

“That doesn’t sound that what you’re gonna say next is gonna be very fun,” Dipper interrupted.

“-but you are so dumb sometimes,” Mabel finished.

“What do you mean?” Dipper asked, confused why she would bring something like this up so randomly.

“Bill has a crush on you. Like a **_huge_ ** crush on you.”

Dipper sat there for a moment unsure what to say or think. Sure him and Bill were friends and hung out almost all the time there and that one time at his apartment, but he didn’t think Bill liked him like that. Sure, Dipper thought he was attractive, and still wasn’t quite sure if he was _attracted_ to him, but that was still news to him.

“Are you sure?” Dipper asked.

“Well, first of all, he-” Mabel stopped, noticing that Bill was about to walk upstairs with their order.

“Hey guys!” he greeted, placing the food and drinks on the table respectively.

“Hey Bill, I’ve got a question.” Mabel said before Dipper could even open his mouth.

“Good question or bad question?” Bill inquired.

“Good question,” Bill calmed a little, “I’m wondering if you wanted to come with me and Dipdop on our hike in the woods tomorrow? It’s gonna be fun and we might run into some animals and stuff.”

“Uh, sure, I’d love to. Dipper,” Dipper jerked his head up from his coffee, “just text me when sometime tonight and directions to your house and I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds good,” Dipper replied.

“It’s a date,” Mabel said.

“It’s a date,” Bill repeated, grinning at the Pines twins. “I’ve gotta go back to work but if you need anything just text me or come down and ask!”

As Bill made his leave, the twins sipped on their coffee, waiting until he was out of earshot. Mabel was the first to speak.  
“As I was saying, he looks at you with all the love in the universe that he is willing to give you if you let him. I saw that as soon as we walked up to the counter.”

Dipper just hummed in response, nibbling on his croissant.

“Second piece of evidence,” Dipper snorted, _“that entire conversation just now.”_

Dipper snorted again, almost turning into giggles. He set down his food and looked at his sister, who seemed slightly unamused by his behavior.

“Mabel, that’s just how he acts,” She really seemed to not be having it now. “He is a nice guy that is _doing his job_ of course he’s gonna be nice.”

“‘ _It’s a date’_?” she mused, sipping on her iced coffee.

“You said it first.”

“He repeated it and smiled.”

“He’s nice.”

“He likes you.”

Dipper sighed and didn’t say anything else, just sipping coffee. Mabel did the same, peering around enjoying herself. Outside, the sun was starting to come out of the clouds, bringing even more light inside and washing the place is beautiful golds rays. Dipper looked over the edge of the banister to look at Bill. The light lit him beautifully. His hair seemed as though every strand was made of actual gold framing his face. When he looked up from the register, Dipper could see how the light hit his eyes and made them look like they were glowing. Bill’s slightly tanned skin looked more golden than ever. Once Dipper finished staring at the man, he noticed him staring back at him. Dipper awkwardly jerked back into his chair and stared at his coffee like it was the only thing there to save him from what had just happened. At that moment, he heard Mabel laughing at him.

“Could you not, Mabel,” Dipper grumbled.

“Dude, how can I not laugh. First you say he’s not your boyfriend and you don’t like him. Then you claim that he doesn’t like you. THEN to top it all off, you get caught staring and are left right now, blushing like an idiot into your coffee. Sorry Dipdop, but I can and will laugh at you all I want,” Mabel finished.

Dipper finished his coffee and got up, taking the cup with him, and walking down the staircase. Mabel jumped up and hurried to keep up with her brother, as he left her alone in an unfamiliar cafe in an unfamiliar town. She watched him walk up to the counter and talk to Bill as he handed the cup back to him. It only lasted a moment however, and soon Dipper was walking out of the coffee shop with his twin following close behind.

 

∞∆∞

 

The next day, Bill drove over to Dipper’s house, thinking about the day before and meeting the other Pines twin. Dipper knows how to be quiet. Mabel, however, does not. He heard their entire conversation. It wasn’t that they were being _extremely_ loud, it just so happened that Bill had amazing hearing. Another talent was reading lips, since some customers didn’t speak up and he had to try and figure out their order without taking too much time. Mabel is very observant, and it took her no time at all to realize Bill’s feelings for Dipper. She also seemed like she was trying to get them together, after all, he is going hiking in the supernatural woods of Gravity Falls.  
Then came Dipper’s denial. He didn’t want to think that Bill had feelings for him, and he was confused about his own feelings towards Bill as well. He could wait though, Pine Tree’s comfort and well being was more important than Bill’s feelings. Although, Bill felt that Pine Tree did have some feelings for him. He did catch him staring the day before, after all. He even apologized for staring when he returned the coffee cup. In response, Bill did flirt with him, shamelessly, and he even flirted a bit back. That was enough to put Bill in the clouds

As he pulled up to the Shack, he noticed a large amount of people milling about the property. _Dipper had said that the place is a tourist trap during the day_ , Bill thought, _it’s not a surprise that the place is filled to the brim._

Bill parked and make his way inside the building, pushing past angry tourists. Once he made it inside he was greeted by a frantic Dipper and Mabel trying to leave.

“Sorry Stan, we made plans!” Dipper shouted from across the store to whom Bill presumed to be Stan.

“Yeah Stan, we really can’t help today! Bill’s here!” Mabel added.

“What the hell am I supposed to do then?!” Stan shouted, annoyance and a hint of love in his voice.

“Call Wendy! She’s back in town from school and is looking for a job apparently.” Dipper said as he pushed everyone out the door.

“Well that was an eventful 30 seconds I had inside.” Bill stated peering down at the Pines twins.

“Well there is no time to waste, into the woods we go!” Mabel squealed, doing an over exaggerated march into the forest.

“If you start singing I will turn around right now, I swear to gods.” Dipper protested.

Dipper was wearing his usual flannel and some cargo shorts, with some athletic shoes instead of his usual sneakers or nice shoes. Mabel had on a pastel pink t-shirt with a shooting star barely visible on the front from the constant wear and tear the shirt has been through. She also was wearing athletic shorts and running shoes, a lot more practical than the heeled boots from the day before. Bill was wearing something similar to Dipper, but switch the flannel for an “Illuminati Confirmed?” shirt with the same wear as Mabel’s.

The three walked throughout the woods for about half an hour before anything really interesting appeared. Some purple and blue glowing butterflies had appeared in a more shadowed area of the woods. Some rays of sunshine were visible and when the butterflies flew underneath, they vanished. Dipper found this amazing and pulled a leather journal with the number 4 on it out of his backpack. He also pulled out a pen and a camera. After getting a picture of the glowing butterflies that didn’t make them vanish, he wrote down as much as he knew about them inside the journal. Mabel and Bill found a place to sit after a few minutes passed and Dipper was continuing to write.

“So Bill,” Mabel said, pretty hushed as a butterfly flew over and landed on her knee.

“Yes?” Bill questioned.

“I know you like Dipper. You know I know,” She said bluntly.

“Ah, yes, I do. It’s amazing how me being around me makes me a completely different person,” Bill replied, looking over to Dipper trying to touch the butterfly with a look of awe on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a gigantic asshole no one actually enjoys most of the time, but around him I become like this. I become a nice-ish person who is funny in a good way, and I’m not screaming and getting angry at people like I usually do.” Bill replied, matter of factly.

“Oh,” Mabel muttered, deciding not to say anything else for a little bit. She gently put her finger in front of the butterfly and after it didn’t fly away, she started touching its wings. The two sat like that for a while, just enjoying the butterflies and the scenery around them for a few minutes.

“Just so you know,” Bill spoke up, “if I do end up dating your brother, I truly hope that you don’t hate me.”

“Why would I hate you?” she replied.

“Most people do. Other siblings of other people I’ve dated have hated me from the start. You are a very nice girl and I just hope we get along whether or not me and your brother get together.” sadness bubbled up into his words.

“Don’t worry Bill,” Mabel said, placing her hand on his knee, “I already like you, and trust me, you two will get together because I’m here.”

The two started giggling, friendship already apparent. They had met a little over 24 hours ago, and yet the friendship felt as though months had already passed. Soon, Dipper made his way back over and they continued their adventure in the woods.

After a while they all decided to walk over to a cave, the twins saying that they needed to visit someone. The trio made their way inside the cave after an outrageous hike to find a safe way in. Dipper and Mabel yelled for their friend only to find their echos. About 10 seconds later, loud roars filled the space and the twins faces lit up enough to light the dark cave. Light bulbs turned on and Multibear could be found laying on a giant pile of blankets and pillows.

“Hello Dipper and Mabel and-” Multibear stopped when he got to Bill.

“Bill Cipher.” Bill added.

“Bill Cipher, wonderful…” Multibear seemed uncomfortable with Bill around, Dipper and Mabel noticed this.

“Multibear, it’s okay. Bill is a friend, he’s a good guy.” Mabel explained.

“Yeah he’s a great guy, don’t worry.” Dipper added.

Multibear hesitated, “Okay…”

The four talked and hung out for about half an hour when everyone realized that it was going to get dark soon and they had to walk back to the Shack. The trio said their goodbyes to Multibear, and began to leave. As Bill was leaving he felt the Multibear staring at him and turned around. Fear filled the Multibear’s eyes and Bill honestly felt bad. He hoped his expression showed his guilt, and turned back around and followed his friends.

They walked back as quickly and safely as possible, avoiding all dangerous areas, and eventually finding the Shack with a few people milling about. Mabel said bye to Bill, giving him a hug and a knowing look before heading inside.

“Hey, thanks for coming today, you really didn’t have to,” Dipper said.

“It’s fine dude, I had a lot of fun. Those butterflies were really interesting earlier.” Bill replied.

“Well it’s getting late so you should head home so you’re not driving in darkness.” Dipper said, looking up towards the darkening sky. Stars were starting to appear and the moonlight washed the area beautifully.

“Yeah, I should. Thanks for a great time, I really enjoyed myself. Know you’re welcome at my house anytime.” Bill said.

Before Dipper knew what was going on, he was hugging Bill back. Shoving his face into Bill’s shirt, he breathed him in. He felt Bill place his chin on his head, and at that moment he felt calming bliss. They stood there for what felt like an eternity, and also nothing. Bill let go of him and he let go of Bill, waving to him as he got in his car and drove off.

Dipper walked inside, not really sure what had just happened, but just knew that it was right. As he walked up to his room, Mabel came busting out of hers.

“So, you totally don’t like Bill?” she inquired.

“Nope.” He said bluntly.

“Oh?”

“I’m totally in love with the guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took forever to write. it was a real bitch. but once I deleted and rewrote it twice I finally got it to where I could actually keep going, it was easy. wrote the whole thing in a day.  
> as you can tell from how late it was and how hard it was to write I'm contemplating finishing it. more like should i just have it finish in a chapter or two or finish it at 10-15 chapters total with a kind of plot. Because tbh I feel like I have kinda moved on from the GF fandom, although I still love reading Billdip fics. I've considering writing a Miraculous Ladybug fic which may or may not come out in the next week bc I want to write a back up chapter so when I can't write at least I have something to post.  
> Let me know if you want it over with now or if you want more of a story for this like I originally planned.  
> Love all of you and thank you for your kudos, comments, and bookmarks. it all means a lot to me  
> My tumblr is tinyarthoe and my fandom blog is coffee-cream-and-pinetrees but I'm thinking about deleting it since its not getting a lot of love from anyone tbh. I will post updates for this fic and any others on both blogs. also i don't think this fic will get any fan art or anything but if it just so happens to, i track the tag "coffee cream and pine trees" on tumblr  
> Comments and Kudos and much appreciated.  
> Love ya!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mabel is a queen, Dipper is a gay nerd, this fic is becoming a giant shitpost, and I'm apparently only able to update every two months. I'll explain myself.

It had been a few days since Dipper confessed to his sister that he loved Bill. Mabel hadn’t made fun of her twin, just sat with him while he tried to figure out all of his emotions. For hours they sat in Mabel’s room, sometimes in silence, sometimes filled with laughter. Through the confusion that Dipper had with his emotions that night, Mabel was there for him. 

Dipper had been somewhat avoiding the coffee shop to instead work at the Shack, but continued to text Bill throughout the day. Bill continued to say he didn’t mind and that work is work, but Dipper still felt guilty for avoiding the blond. It had only been a couple of months since Dipper first met him, but it felt like they had known each other for their entire lives.

Dipper was sitting behind the counter in the shop, helping the few tourists that would come in. The tourist high of the summer wasn’t quite there yet, so it was nice not to have to run around and be constantly be ringing up people and picking up the messes that said people left behind. Dipper lived for these lows, because it meant that him and Mabel could mess around with Stan or even leave for the day. 

_ I could leave and go see Bill. _

Dipper shook that thought out of his head. He had told Bill earlier that day that he was working until closing, and that he couldn’t come and visit. Bill found it outrageous that Stan was making him work so much, but he understood and told him to not work too hard. Dipper honestly felt bad that he was actively avoiding the man he loved, but he was afraid that if he saw him it was going to be awkward and he wasn’t gonna know what to do. Mabel had told him a few days prior that Bill had feelings for him too, but he said that it couldn’t be true since he would have been able to tell. Mabel continued to try and convince him for another twenty minutes, but to no avail, Dipper would not accept it no matter how much he wanted it to be true. 

“Hey, Earth to Dipdop!” Mabel said, waving her hand in front of her twins face.

Dipper jumped, startled from his sister’s sudden appearance. As a result of his jump, he fell off of his stool, knocking everything off the counter in front of him and hitting his head. He rubbed his forehead, looking up at his sister’s face slowly peering over the counter to look at him on the floor. 

“Sorry, I didn’t think that you were gonna fall,” Mabel apologized, covering her mouth with her hand.

“It’s fine, Mabes. I was zoning out and it better that it happened with you rather than with a customer.” Dipper stood, adjusting his glasses and placing the stool upright. 

“Yeah I guess so,” she said, guilt taking over her features.

“I told you, it’s fine. Don’t look so guilty, I’m okay.” He told her, poking her in the cheek. 

“If you say so,” she replied, scrunching up her face. “I came over here to ask if you wanted to come with me to run some errands. Stan said that we could go since he’s about so close up. It’s slow and I can tell that you’re bored, so you should come with.”

“Well, if he’s closing up anyway,” Dipper said, hesitant. He looked around, finding no one in the gift shop, and no reason to stay.    
“Come on Dipper! You haven’t left the house since you told me about Bill, and I’m worried. I know it’s only been a few days, but you would go there every day,” Mabel shouted, concerned. “You will get out of the house, and if you refuse I’m going to force you to come with me anyway-”

“Mabel-”

“-and we will go to the god damn coffee shop and I will leave you there until you tell him how you feel.” She finished, staring at him with her hands firmly placed on her hips. She was not going to take “no” as an answer, and a “no” would resort in him being forced to talk to Bill anyway. Dipper quickly nodded in reply, not wanting the latter to happen. 

“Great!” Mabel smiled, clapping her hands and pulling her keys out of her pocket. “Let’s go.”

Dipper followed her out the door and to the car like a puppy with its tail between its legs. When he arrived at the passenger door and hesitated opening it, he looked up and saw Mabel smiling at him but with a fire in her eyes saying  _ “get in the damn car or else” _ . Dipper opened the door and sat down, buckling his seatbelt and rolling the window down once the car engine was running. 

Mabel turned the radio up and sang along to the top 40 as she made her way onto the main road. The radio vibrated through Dipper’s body as he watched the world go by outside the window. Within minutes, he began singing along with his twin. Soon, both Pines twins were singing at the top of their lungs with the windows down, getting looks from the townspeople. 

The first stop was the grocery store. Mabel pulled the small list out of her pocket, and motioned for Dipper to grab a cart. The twins walked up and down the aisles joking and throwing things in the cart. Once they got everything on the list, they went back around looking for other things that they could sneak into the Shack. 

“Mabes, we should get some Doritos!” Dipper shouted as he ran over to the section of the chip aisle that held the various Doritos flavors.

“Haha, why?” Mabel laughed. “I don’t think we need more junk food, we already have enough in the cart.”   
“But Mabel, we don’t have  _ Doritos _ in the cart.”

Mabel rose an eyebrow looking at her brother, and after a couple of seconds just staring at each over she gave up. 

“Fine Dipper.” Mabel said, Dipper smiling to himself.

“But, If we’re gonna get one flavor,” Mabel said, holding up a hand, “We have to get all the rest of the flavors just to be fair to all of them. You don’t want a supernatural chip bag to be upset that we didn’t buy them because we wanted their rival flavor.”

With that, Mabel went and pushed every single flavor of Doritos in the cart, aside from the Nacho Cheese that Dipper was already holding in his hands. Dipper stood there with his mouth gaping at his sister as she continued down the aisle. 

∞∆∞

“Hey Dipdop, I’ve got one more errand to run before we head back to the shack,” Mabel said as she stepped into the car.

“Where else do you need to go Mabes?” Dipper asked, buckling his seatbelt. 

“Just need to pick up some jewelry. Gonna start my Summerween costume early to make sure it’s the best one in town,” Mabel replied, grinning as she put on her reflective circle sunglasses and turned the car on.   
Dipper chuckled at his sister and looked out the window as they pulled out of their parking spot. As they drove on, the building filled streets turned into trees as they made their way out of one town and towards the next. Dipper rolled the window down and stuck his hand out, fingers spread apart, feeling the warm summer air surround him. 

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the jewelry store in the next town over. Mabel walked in the door, placing her sunglasses on her head and heading straight to the earings in front of the door. Dipper walked around, trying to find something to distract himself with when he found the necklace section. He toyed around with a few of the objects and skimmed his hand across, feeling the chains against his fingertips. The shop looked as if it was made for younger girls, although some Dipper and Mabel’s age were lingering around. He seemed like the odd one out, even though he did walk in with his twin. 

Dipper’s eye caught a necklace on a black string with a gold triangle pendant. Dipper picked up the odd necklace, looking around for others of its kind but not finding anything. He brought it closer, admiring the details of it. The triangle was a soft gold, not quite yellow but also not silver. A circle was just above the center of the triangle, with a line cutting the circle in half but not quite touching the perimeter of it. Soft lines engraved in the outer parts of the circle spouted off away from it, towards the sides of the triangle, but also not quite touching the edges. 

“Whatcha got there Dip-dop?” Mabel asked over his shoulder.

“I found this just hanging off the hook. It doesn’t have a price tag, or any others like it anywhere else.” Dipper stood, holding it up to his sister and placing it in her hand. 

“Hm, how odd.” Mabel said, twirling it around and bringing it closer to her eyes before handing it back, “You could ask the clerk how much it is if you want it.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Dipper muttered in reply to his sister, still inspecting the odd necklace. 

“Well, I have what I need. I’m gonna go check out and we can start heading home.” Mabel walked back around the store to the counter, making conversation with the clerk as Dipper stood in place. 

Dipper walked up to the counter where his twin was, holding the necklace in his hand. The clerk had dark red hair and freckles over her nose and cheeks. She was wearing a black crop top, with a red and green flannel tied around her waist. Her hands were covered in various rings, and a black infinity tattoo covered in flowers on the inside of her wrist. Her and Mabel were talking about what they were going to be doing for Summerween, as the tradition seemed to branch its way out into neighboring towns. 

“Um, excuse me,” Dipper said, catching the attention of the clerk who looked over to him from his twin, “I found this necklace, but it doesn’t have a price tag or any others like it anywhere else in the store.”

“Let me see it.” The clerk said, Dipper handing over the necklace for her to inspect as well. She toyed with it and flipped it over in her hand a few times before looking back up at male Pines twin. “Well, I’ve never seen anything like this before in our stock, so how about you just take it since if it belonged to anyone, they would have come and get it by now.”

“Are you sure?” Dipper asked, hesitant to take the necklace back.

“Definitely. We don’t need it sitting around here, and it’s just sitting here so take it. It’s not harming anyone, plus you found it. Finders keepers, man.” She replied, printing out the receipt and placing it in the bag before handing it to Mabel. 

Dipper looked down at the necklace in the palm of his hand as him and Mabel exited the shop and walked to their parked car. As they sat down, Dipper eyed the necklace a final time before deciding to put it on. It wasn’t a very feminine necklace, but it also wasn’t necessarily masculine either. It was spooky, and maybe that’s why Dipper like the oddity so much. He watched the trees go by, and the wind skim past his face as summer began to set in. Dipper was lost in thought, thoughts of Bill creeping in and out of his brain. The man’s blond hair, yellow like the sun, reflecting the light of the sky and surroundings. His blue eyes, bright and attention grabbing, always pulling Dipper in. 

The car suddenly stopped at a light, pulling Dipper from his thoughts. He looked around, recognizing the area and the architecture, but it wasn’t quite like home. That’s when Dipper realized, they weren’t in Gravity Falls. They were in the next town over, the town that held the coffee shop Bill worked at.

“Mabel,” Dipper said sternly, voice hinting at anxiety, “Why are we here. Why are you bringing me here.”

“Well, I told you we were gonna get out and run some errands.” she replied, acting like this was absolutely on their list of stops for the day.

“Yeah, but you never said we were coming here. You barely even know they layout of the town!” He shouted.

“I didn’t even tell you where we were going in the first place so don’t yell at me.” She retorted, annoyance clearly on her face from Dipper shouting at her. “I want some coffee, and I know it’s good here, so we’re getting coffee. You don’t even know if he’s working right now bro-bro.”

“Yes I do, he texts me when he’s working everyday,” Dipper grumbled, sinking into his seat crossing his arms over himself. 

“Don’t go pouting at me like a child Dipper. You are a grown ass man now sit up and be happy I’m taking you to see your boyfriend.” She said, looking for a parking spot. 

Dipper pushed up his glasses and sat there looking out the window. Maybe he shouldn’t be upset at Mabel. She  _ is  _ taking him to see the guy he’s in love with when she doesn’t need to. Plus, ignoring the man isn’t gonna help their relationship at all, only make it more distant. He’ll just go in there, get some tea to calm himself down, and maybe even ask Bill to hang out.  _ It’s gonna be fine,  _ he thought to himself,  _ Bill likes you, you guys are friends. Everything is gonna be okay.  _

Dipper heard the click of the car parking and unlocking, and got out of the car. He stretched a little, trying to calm his sudden nerves. 

“It’s gonna be fine bro-bro.” Mabel said, rubbing her hand up and down her twin’s arm. “It’s only gonna be awkward if you make it awkward.”

Dipper followed his sister inside the large glass doors of the cafe. The line was almost nonexistent, placing them only a person or two back.  _ Maybe I’ll get an iced coffee today since it’s kinda warm out,  _ Dipper thought to himself, trying to keep his mind busy. At that exact moment, Dipper looked down from the menu to find Bill emerging from the back to start making drinks. The two men made eye contact, and Bills face went from shock to happiness in an instant. The blond smiled at Dipper, who waved in response, a smile barely visible on his face. Dipper noticed the blond chuckle as he turned to begin his work, causing him to chuckle as well. 

“Dipper! Where’ve you been dude?” Alex asked as the twins made their way to the counter. 

“I’m a busy man, Alex. Can’t spend all my time and money here.” Dipper laughed, causing the employee to jokingly punch his arm. 

“Well, we missed you. Come more often, it’s weird not having you sitting around here writing all the time. What can I get you two?”

“I’ll have a large vanilla iced latte,” Mabel told the female barista. 

“Okay, got it. For you Dipper?” Alex asked, as she put down Mabel’s cup for Bill to deal with. 

“Same thing for me as well.” Dipper replied. 

“Iced coffee!? Who are you and what did you do with Dipper?” Alex asked, writing his order on another cup.

“I started coming here a few months ago  _ in the winter,  _ so usually when it’s cold you get warm things. Well it’s getting warmer, and iced coffee is great. Seasons change, and so do drink orders, A.” Dipper explained. 

Dipper paid for the coffee as Mabel sat down at the counter, already talking to Bill. Dipper walked over and sat down in the stool next to his twin, just listening to their conversation. Dipper didn’t say anything, just observing the two while he waited for his drink. Bill talked while gracefully moving around the small area, operating multiple machines at once. Bill’s usual long sleeved black button down was rolled up to his elbows, and parts his hair flopping onto his forehead. Within minutes, their drinks arrived and they sipped on them as the conversation continued. Dipper admired the man from his stool, while his more extroverted sister talked to the blond herself. Well, that was until she went to the restroom. 

The two men just looked at each other for a moment, just taking the other in. It felt as if time had stopped, that they were the only two in the room. Dipper looked the blond over, taking in every detail as if this was the last time he was going to see him. He soaked in every wrinkle of his shirt, every freckle on his skin, how his skin slowly turns pink as a blush settles in. He was the sun and the stars, and all Dipper could do was admire him without getting as close as he wanted. When Dipper looked back up to the blond’s eyes, he found Bill’s eyes slowly trailing down his form as he tried to dry a glass. 

“Hey,” Bill said, barely louder than a whisper.

“Hi,” Dipper replied, finding it hard to say anything to the other man. 

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Bill smiled, licking his lips and turning back to the glass he was drying.

“Yeah... yeah...” Dipper muttered, looking down at the counter. 

“Hey,” Bill said, bringing Dipper’s attention upwards, “Do you wanna, maybe, come over and hang out after my shift is over? I know it’s not for a couple of hours, but we haven’t seen each other in a while and I have some  _ X-Files _ recorded if you wanna watch those?”

“Sure, yeah.” A smile slowly made its way onto Dipper’s face, a blush following closely behind. 

“Cool. See you at 6 then.” Bill said, a cool smile on his face as he looked over the male twin, eyes landing on necklace. “That new?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, found it in a store today with Mabel. Cashier just let me take it since it didn’t have a price tag on it or any others in stock.”

“Interesting, I like it.” Bill replied, eyes still on the necklace before he turned to begin making more drinks.

“Time to go Dip,” Mabel said, as she bounced back from the restroom and grabbing her wallet off the counter. “Bye Bill! See you around sometime!”

“Bye, see you guys later.” Bill said, winking to Dipper after Mabel turned around. 

Dipper’s skipped a beat and he smiled and blushed as he walked out of the cafe with the remainder of his coffee. 

∞∆∞

Bill  _ had _ gotten off at 5:30, giving him enough time to get home and get changed before Dipper was going to come over. Bill  _ was  _ going to bake some cookies and make some popcorn so they would have something to snack on. But no, Bill’s boss had other plans. Bill’s boss, Sandra, thought it would be a good idea for Bill to clean up every cup and machine before he could leave, even if the rush was about to come in. Bill was now coming home at 5:50, mer minutes before Dipper was going to come over. He didn’t have the cookies or the popcorn ready, he didn’t have all the comfy blankets out, he wasn’t changed out of his work clothes yet-

“Oh Bill, crazy seeing you at this time.”

-and now Bill had to deal with Tad fucking Strange. 

“Hi Tad.” Bill grumbled out, leaning against the elevator wall. 

“Haven’t seen you around recently.” Tad said, stepping closer to the blond.

“No, thatsbeentheplanthiswholetime.” Bill muttered out, turning so his body was facing the door of the elevator.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, Tad.”   
“Okay,” Tad said, still creeping closer. “I was wondering if you wanted to-”   
_ DING _

The metal doors of the elevator opened, revealing Bill and Tad’s floor. Bill walked out first, Tad following closely behind, still talking to Bill. The blond kept walking, giving appropriate noises when needed, but otherwise not listening at all. As they made the turn to their neighboring apartments, Tad’s hand made it to Bill’s shoulder and turning him around. 

“Bill,” Tad started, glancing down at the ground before continuing, “Did you hear anything I just said?”

“No, I didn’t,” Bill sighed, looking at the darked haired man. “I’ve had a long, emotion filled day today and I wasn’t expecting to talk to anyone. I’m sorry for that. Whatever you were saying, just knock on my door tomorrow morning and I’ll listen then.”

Tad looked at the blond, slack jawed, unsure what to say. Bill had always been rude to the raven-haired man, so this type of behavior from Bill was shocking. 

“Okay, Bill. Hope you have a good rest of your night, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tad said, unlocking his door and stepping inside shortly after. 

_ Well, I guess that takes care of that,  _ Bill thought to himself, turning the key of his apartment and opening the door. 

 

Dipper walked up to Bill’s door, the smell of cookies and popcorn emerging from the home and surrounding Dipper with its warmth. He could hear the music Bill was playing from outside, and could faintly hear him singing along. Dipper smiled to himself, imagining the blond singing and dancing along to the music. He also imagined himself singing and dancing with Bill, eating cookies while the blond danced outrageously.  _ If you knock on the door that dream could be a reality, _ Dipper thought to himself,  _ you don’t have to stand out here wishing when you could live it.  _

Dipper knocked on the door, fiddling with his hands waiting for Bill to open it. A moment later, Bill’s face emerged from behind the door, a cookie in his mouth. Dipper couldn’t help but laugh at the taller man, who smiled behind the cookie at the brunet. 

“Do you wanna come in, or are you just gonna laugh at me from outside?” Bill asked after taking the cookie out of his mouth. 

The shorter man walked in, kicking off his shoes and walking over to the kitchen where the cookies were still on their tray. He picked one up and put the entire thing in his mouth before turning to Bill and giving him a closed mouthed grin. Bill laughed at him, collapsing onto the ground after closing the door. 

“Oh my god, Pine Tree,” Bill wheezed, “you would make an amazing chipmunk.”

“I would, wouldn’t I?” Dipper said, chewing on the cookie. “Don’t expect me to start singing with my other chipmunk friends for your entertainment though.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Pine Tree.” Bill said, pulling the smaller man to his side for a split second before letting go. This action sent all the blood in Dipper’s body straight to his face, a blush covering his cheeks and neck. 

“Wh-what are we watching tonight?” Dipper asked, walking over towards the couch and looking at the TV. “This doesn’t look like X-Files, Bill.”

“Yeah, about that,” Bill said, rubbing the back of his neck while plating the cookies, “I sort of accidently hit record series of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, so now my entire DVR consists of Triple D.”

“You what?” Dipper asked, laughing at the blond. “Oh my god, you’re such a Food Network dork.”

“Well if you don’t want to watch this, I could try and find something else…” Bill said, walking over to the couch and placing the cookies and popcorn onto the coffee table before sitting down. 

“No, no, this is totally fine. I just wasn’t expecting Guy Fieri to be joining us tonight.” Dipper replied, laughter calming down a bit.

“Get your butt over here then and let’s watch!” Bill said, pulling the alien blanket off of the back of the couch and spreading his legs out. 

∞∆∞

A few hours had gone by, the cookies and popcorn almost gone, Dipper’s glasses placed on the coffee table. Somewhere in the last hour, Dipper had laid back on his side of the couch, and Bill had decided upon himself to lay on top of Dipper. Bill’s head rested on Dipper’s chest, arms underneath the smaller man, torso between Dipper’s legs. One of Dipper’s hands was aimlessly playing with Bill’s hair, the other resting on Bill’s back. Dipper’s left leg was bent over Bill’s, his knee leaning against the back of the couch. His other leg was more relaxed, also bent over Bill’s, but right on top of the other man’s. The blanket had been discarded on the floor in Bill’s successful attempt to lay on Dipper, laying in a heap below the edge of the couch. 

_ “I’ll be looking for you next time on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” _

Guy Fieri’s sign off meant another episode had gone by, the two men not moving and just enjoying the other. Bill picked up the remote and clicked for another episode to run, before putting the remote back down and snuggling into his human pillow. Dipper hummed and smiled, continuing to play with the blond’s hair as the next episode started up. Bill squeezed Dipper as he buried his face into the other man’s shirt and hummed in content. Dipper squeaked, looking down at the other man. Bill looked up, his loving eyes looking right into Dipper’s soul. 

In that moment, Dipper realized he wanted nothing more than to be with this man forever, whatever that meant. If that meant lying on his couch, holding each other, he would be happy. If that meant losing everything and having to leave everything Dipper knew, he would be happy then too. Dipper’s brown eyes looked into blue, love and passion flowing from one to the other, drowning him. 

Bill glanced down at Dipper’s lips for a moment, licking his own, and looking back up at the other man. One of Bill’s arms released Dipper, pushing himself upwards and closer to the other. Time seemed to slow down as they looked at each other, Dipper noticing every freckle and flaw on Bill’s face. Then, Bill moved closer, his face centimeters from Dipper’s, his shallow breaths the only sound in the room. Dipper closed his eyes as he felt Bill’s lips meet his own, perfectly matching up. 

Bill moved away first, looking at his Pine Tree with all the love in the universe before going back in again, passion filling him. Dipper felt this as well, and gripped the blond by his jaw as he felt a cerulean fire surround them. All of reality seemed to not exist at that moment as the two men kissed, falling apart around them with them being the last beings in existence. Dipper moved away, slowly opening his eyes to see the beautiful fire surrounding them, engulfing them, protecting them. 

“I love you so, so, so much,” Dipper whispered, barely audible. 

“I love you too, Pine Tree,” Bill said, kissing his love again, never wanting to leave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends and readers,  
> So yeah, I was MIA for two months, gave no sign of return, and all of a sudden appear. Well, this chapter was a lot longer than I usually write, mostly because a lot happened. Trust me, I have been writing this since I posted the last one, but I had to rewrite the beginning about 3 times and school started. I was going to update last weekend, but alas didn't have an ending so that didn't happen. I'm here tho!!  
> Updates still might be slow, since school did start and I am a very busy girl my senior year. I do theater and am currently stage managing 2 shows that happen back to back, have do do college apps (which i haven't started lmao), and I'm taking another AP class this year. I'm stressed as hell right now. Writing this has helped with the stress, but I'm not a writer so I'm never 100% happy with my work here. I am happy with the ending of this chapter tho so at least I got that.   
> A few updates on my writing while were here:  
> \- I am going to keep writing this fic in the free time that I have which is usually on the weekends so updates will still happen and I will try to make them more frequent (like every 2 weeks or so to give me time to figure out stuff and write it)  
> \- I'm gonna write a Miraculous Ladybug fic!!! I'm struggling to write the first chapter but once its up I will let any of my fellow ML fans know (probably on my tumblr tbh)  
> Final thing, the next chapter can go one of two ways: cute make out scene thats fluffy like the rest of this fic has pretty much been, or smut. passionate, super gay, smut. If it goes the smut route then I will try to make it as good as possible ;)) please comment which way you want it to go to help me out or else I will make a decision myself.  
> Thank you for being so patient with me, thank you for over 900 hits ((I still can't believe it)), and for being so lovely in the comments. It makes my day seeing a notification that I got a comment.   
> Please leave Comments and Kudos, I just love seeing reactions!!  
> Also follow me on tumblr: coffee-cream-and-pinetrees. I've started posting previews and I post updates of this fic and future fics (as well as reblog other fandom stuffs)  
> Have a lovely day, I love you, and am always here for you  
> ~ syd


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